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The UK's advertising watchdog has significantly backtracked on its decision to ban a Calvin Klein ad featuring British musician FKA twigs, partially overturning a decision that was widely criticised by the public and the singer herself.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) banned the ad in January after receiving two complaints that claimed the image objectified women and was "offensive and irresponsible".
The ad showed FKA twigs, whose real name is Tahliah Barnett, wearing a shirt halfway around her body.
The watchdog agreed with the complaints and said the ad "used nudity and centred on FKA twigs's physical features rather than the clothing" to present her as a "stereotypical sexual object".
Barnett accused the ASA of "double standards" given "other campaigns past and current of this nature".
She said she did not see herself as a "stereotypical sexual object" as the ASA described, but rather "a beautiful strong woman of colour whose incredible body has overcome more pain than you can imagine".
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The two complaints about the ad also took issue with a Calvin Klein ad featuring model Kendall Jenner, but the ASA rejected the claim that the Jenner ad was offensive.
In a statement, the ASA said it had reversed its decision on the ad featuring Barnett, but it would remain banned from places where it might be seen by children.
The watchdog said public criticism was important, but it was not the reason it revisited its ruling.
"That reason was our unease about the wording in the ruling explaining our rationale for our decision that FKA twigs had been objectified. We thought it was inconsistent in its treatment of the three posters and was therefore flawed," it said.
"The ad presented her as confident and in control and, therefore, she had not been presented as a stereotypical sexual object."
The ASA said it was prepared to challenge its own decisions "if we think we've got it wrong".
It maintained that the FKA twigs ad was "overtly sexual", describing it as "materially different to the mildly sexual and sexually suggestive, but not overtly sexual, images of Kendall Jenner".
The ASA also denied accusations that the race or identity of the two women informed its rulings on their ads.
The authority also defended accusations of double standards around Calvin Klein advertisements featuring Jeremy Allen White, which showed the actor in his underwear and pulling down his pants.
"The challenge was that if FKA twigs was objectified then surely Jeremy Allen White was too? We didn't receive any complaints about the Jeremy Allen White ads that we could pursue, because the complaints appeared to be based on media coverage or ads appearing outside the UK. So we haven't formally investigated the ads," the ASA said.
"We have, though, considered the ads in the round when reassessing the FKA twigs poster, and our view is that the Jeremy Allen White ads would be unlikely to break our rules."
In her initial statement about the banning of her ad, Barnett thanked her collaborators and said she had been given "space to express myself exactly how I wanted to — I will not have my narrative changed".
She is yet to publicly comment on the ASA partially overturning its ban.